Duty (from "due," that which is owing, O. Fr. deu, did, past participle of devoir; Lat. debere, debitum; cf. "debt") is a term that conveys a sense of moral commitment to someone or something. The moral commitment is the sort that results in action, and it is not a matter of passive feeling or mere recognition. When someone recognizes a duty, that person commits himself/herself to the cause involved without considering the self-interested courses of actions that may have been relevant previously.
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Quotations
Duty grows everywhere, like children, like grass.
duty is the sumblimus word in our language do your duty in all things. you cannot do more. you should never wish to do less.
Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
In every profession the daily and common duties are the most useful.
It is thy duty oftentimes to do what thou wouldst not; thy duty, too, to leave undone that thou wouldst do.
Let men laugh when you sacrifice desire to duty, if they will. You have time and eternity to rejoice in.
Encyclopedia
Duty (from "due," that which is owing, O. Fr. deu, did, past participle of devoir; Lat. debere, debitum; cf. "debt") is a term that conveys a sense of moral commitment to someone or something. The moral commitment is the sort that results in action, and it is not a matter of passive feeling or mere recognition. When someone recognizes a duty, that person commits himself/herself to the cause involved without considering the self-interested courses of actions that may have been relevant previously. This is not to suggest that living a life of duty precludes one from the best sort of life, but duty does involve some sacrifice of immediate self-interest.
Cicero is an early philosopher who acknowledged this possibility. He discusses duty in his work “On Duty." He suggests that duties can come from four different sources:
- It is a result of being human
- It is a result of one's particular place in life (your family, your country, your job)
- It is a result of one's character
- One's own moral expectations for oneself can generate duties
From the root idea of obligation to serve or give something in return, involved in the conception of duty, have sprung various derivative uses of the word; thus it is used of the services performed by a minister of a church, by a soldier, or by any employee or servant.
Many schools of thought have debated the idea of duty. While many assert mankind's duty on their own terms, some philosophers have absolutely rejected a sense of duty.
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